The Woodspeen

By remodelling and extending a 19th-century village pub, we created for Michelin-starred chef John Campbell a beautiful environment for people to work in, learn their craft, and for guests to enjoy their food - a complete hospitality unit.

The Woodspeen hosts a 70-seat glass-fronted restaurant with bar and a culinary school - with an adjoining half-acre kitchen garden to supply the restaurant. Local and seasonal are honest, ‘slow’ values and we were inspired by these to salvage much of the remaining fabric or the former Five Bells pub.

Our first response was to use contemporary detailing and paintwork to sensitively rework the time-honoured pub interior. The extension relies on natural materials, including its beautifully detailed thatched hipped roof, to complement the original building.

In contrast, the adjoining cookery school employs British craft and materials in a sleek and homogenous manner. Housed in a barn building that dates from 1811, the mix of tradition and modern technology echo the contemporary culinary approach to time-honoured recipes and cooking techniques.

'We’re really proud of the Woodspeen. It’s been a couple of years in the planning and I think the final result – the quality of the restaurant, the kitchen, the food and the ambience – is genuinely first class.'

— Noel Mahony, Chief executive of BaxterStorey

‘a rather beautiful conversion, which is smart in a knowingly understated way’